Opinion: Asian journalists wary of coming Trump presidency
Asian journalists attending Asia News Network workshop in Singapore have worried about Donald Trump's victory in US presidency election who has called for stopping Muslims from entering the United States.
Donald Trump won the US presidency despite his electoral campaign policies towards local minorities, immigrants as well as Muslims being regarded by many as unacceptable or unbelievable.
He called for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until the country could figure out the current situation. He appeared to prefer building walls between the US and Mexico to prevent illegal immigration by Mexicans. His victory resulted in protests in many US states, including the most populous state California.
Primastuti Handayani, managing editor of the Jakarta Post, told The Nation that we have to respect the US election result, adding it is valid and reflected the majority of US voters' political views.
"However, I personally worry about the lives of minorities there: Muslims, Hispanics, LGBTs [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] etc because Trump had repeatedly made provocative comments that could divide the US more deeply. As much as I don't want that to happen, some of my friends have already voiced concerns about their safety," she said.
"Trump needed to address this seriously. He has already said that he would be the president for all Americans but he needs to take action to protect the minorities and win their hearts.
"The world will have to adjust to a new US global political stance. Fingers crossed, I hope Trump can make America better, just as he promised."
Meanwhile, Ivan Angelo de Lara, web editor of Inquirer.net of the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, said that it's starting to look like the year of the strongman with the victory of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, and now, Donald Trump in the United States.
"Trump won in a democratic process, but it's understandable why people have strong reactions toward it [his win]. He has been involved in various controversies, and to say that his victory was a shock is an understatement," de Lara said.
"His immigration policy hits close to home because I have immigrant relatives in the US. And while they have the right papers, it's still of concern how US citizens may see them now that Trump is president-elect.
"It will be interesting to see what a business mogul will do with all the power he will be handed as the leader of the world's most powerful nation. I am just hoping that he does well by his people and fosters understanding, tolerance and acceptance instead of hate and abuse."
Zaid Bin Kalam, online journalist of the Bangladesh paper The Daily Star, said the US electoral system seemed to be more controversial than Trump himself.
The American public elected its controversial new leader though a legitimate democratic system but there have been so many adverse comments and reactions over the result. "No one in the present world will deny the concept of democracy because the idea generates hope. But the application of the concept of democracy seems to vary from state to state.
"Donald Trump's non-partisan background should have been welcome to people like me who love to think outside the box, but it is not to be as we already know the mind of the man and his intentions.
"If peoples' goodwill is to be reflected in the polls then why was Trump, with his notorious and widely criticised ideas, there in the first place? He was there because the system allowed him.
"The other thing is, in a democracy the number of voices should be considered equally with the merit of the message carried by the majority of the populace. But the current democratic system has repeatedly failed to accommodate this and President-elect Trump is the latest example of that [the failure], he said.
Rooting for Hillary
From Mongolia, Odbayar Surenjav, content manager at Mongol Content, said: "I personally have not been tracking the electoral process since the beginning. Of course, I was aware of the candidates, but was not following their election campaign and other information related to which of the candidates was best suited for the position."
She said that she had been rooting for Hillary Clinton as a woman. Throughout US history there hasn't been a female president and it was interesting that a female was running for president and how people would react to it, not to mention the reaction if she won, she said.
"I was not keen on Trump because public sentiment about his campaign promises was not appealing to voters. Many in Mongolia were following the elections and the candidates and commenting through their social media accounts.
"All in all, I had no specific interest in the elections, as they have very little direct effect on Mongolia and its economic and political life."
The journalists had recently gathered in Singapore to attend a workshop organised by Asia News Network, one of the world's biggest media alliances comprising 20 media houses in 18 Asian countries.
Copyright: The Nation/ Asia News Network